Changes
by melissa341
Summary: After seeing her daughter and her husband in a very different light, Alexis deals with the fallout, with Noah Drake by her side.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Alexis didn't know where else to go. She would have jumped off a building if not for the thought of Kristina, Molly, and Nikolas. Her world was crashing in around her, and she went to the docks. She knew she could see Wyndemere from there and she needed to see it. She needed to think of Stefan and what he would say to her. Alexis walked down a small pier with no boats hooked up to it and stood at the edge. It started lightly raining and she was cold. She shuddered and sat on the edge. After discarding her brand-new heels in the water, she dipped her feet in. She was glad that it was summer and the water was warm. It felt good. The rain felt good. It came down harder now. Alexis hadn't cried yet. She just thought of that and then, they came. The tears. No noise. No sobbing. Nothing, just silent tears that hurt. She didn't bother wiping them away because her face was already wet.

"Mrs. Lansing?" She heard an unfamiliar voice call her from behind. She didn't want to respond to that name, but whoever it was didn't see what she just saw. She turned her head and saw the handsome doctor walking towards her.

"Dr. Drake."

"Noah."

She looked up and smiled softly when he reached her. Alexis barely knew this man, but he helped save her life during the epidemic. He helped save a lot of people's lives.

"Are you okay, Mrs. Lansing?"

"It's Davis," she snapped, "Sorry. My last name is Davis … just, call me Alexis."

He sat down beside her, "Alexis." He looked over at her. He had noticed how beautiful she was before, but now, in her sadness, she was more gorgeous than any woman had a right to be.

"Everything okay?" He asked nicely.

"No," she simply answered.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No."

Noah just sat there. He took his shoes off and rolled up his pants, letting his feet drift into the water.

"Well, I had a bad day at work today. I lost two patients and got ripped into by my son."

Alexis looked over to him, "I'm sorry about your patients. I guess you're used to the feeling though. I don't see how you do it."

"You get through it. You survive, you learn. You move on."

"That's good advice for me right now."

Noah looked over, "Care to talk about it?"

Alexis just sat there for a moment, "My daughter. My daughter that I just found, she…just…I just caught her sleeping with my husband."

Noah looked at her like she was joking, "No way."

"Yes, way," she said jokingly, "Yes, definitely … yes, way." She laughed. It was a cold, bitter laugh. The rain came down harder and Wyndemere disappeared from view.

"How could I be so damn stupid? Dr. Drake? How could someone like me, who has been to hell and back, have been so completely naïve and just…stupid? I'm a smart woman. Very smart, actually. I went to freakin' Yale for God's sake! How could I have let my husband do this to me twice?!"

Noah just listened. 'What idiot would cheat on this woman ONCE?' he thought to himself.

"But, I digress, I mean, God, why couldn't I see it coming? Sam, that's my daughter, she is angry at me for wanting her away from Jason Morgan …"

"The mob-"

"Yeah, yeah, the mobster," she interrupted. "Yeah, the man who nearly got her killed because of his life. Yeah."

"So, I understand that she might be angry with you, but, sleeping with …"

"Yes, once again, yeah. My husband. I'm sure he had a hand in seducing her. He would do anything to hurt Jason. But my God, Noah, what could he be thinking?"

"That's what I'm wondering. Mrs. Davis, Alexis, well, first of all, let's get out of this rain. Would you care to join me for some ice cream at Kelly's?"

Alexis looked over to him and laughed bitterly again, "I would absolutely love that."

After walking to Kelly's and finding a table, Alexis finished her story and Noah listened. He just sat there and let her complain, let her cry, let her scream if she wanted to, but she didn't scream, or cry. She had too much class for that. Alexis was tired and needed to sleep. She was emotionally drained and didn't feel like doing anything but fall asleep in her bed. She wondered if they had sex in her bed. She wanted to throw up.

"It's okay to throw up."

"What?" Alexis came out of her daze.

"You said that you wanted to throw up. That's perfectly understandable."

"I was talking?"

Noah looked at her confused, "Look, you're tired. Would you like me to take you somewhere, a hotel … so you can get some sleep?"

"No, you can take me home. I need to get a pair of shoes and some clothes and my daughters, not that one, the other two."

Noah was worried, "What if they're still there, your husband and daughter?"

"They won't see me because you're going to be nice enough to go in for me. Let's go." She stood up and walked out.

Noah smiled. She was so confident. He couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next. He wasn't however, looking forward to a confrontation with her husband and daughter, but hey, right now, he'd do anything for this woman.

The car drove up the driveway. Alexis was in the driver's seat and she had told Noah everything she needed from her room. She explained that Viola would help get the girls ready and she'd be coming with them.

"You're okay with this?" Alexis asked Noah, feeling bad for putting this man in this position only minutes of formally meeting him.

"No problem. But what if your husband refuses to let the children come?"

"He won't. Just tell him that I know."

Noah nodded and ran towards the door, the rain still pounding down. He knocked and Sam opened the door.

"Hi, can I help you?"

"Yes, I'm here to pick up a few things for Alexis, including Kristina, Molly, and Viola."

Sam's face went white. She knew.

Ric walked in with a scotch in his hand.

Noah just looked at him, disgusted, "I know where everything is." He walked past Sam and back towards where Alexis said the kid's rooms were. After explaining everything to Viola, he went to Alexis' room and got her belongings.

Alexis was sitting in the car watching the windshield wipers do their work. The rain was slowly dying down and she could now see Ric walking toward the car. He knocked on her window. She didn't roll it down, but she did open the door … hard. It slammed into him and he dropped to the ground in pain. She closed the door, locked it, and smiled to herself. She then saw Viola bringing the girls and unlocked all of the doors but her own. They piled into the backseat with three bags of what she assumed were Kristina's toys, Molly's diapers, and some clothes.

"Hey, my girls!"

Noah followed soon after.

Ric just watched. He tried speaking to Alexis while the doors were open, but she ignored him. Ric knew that she knew. She must have seen it.

Alexis sat for a moment, getting the girls situated. Ric knocked on the window again, and like before, she opened the door hard and hit him. He fell once more to the ground and this time, Alexis rolled the window down. She looked at Ric and smiled.

"Ric … twice? You never learn." And with that, she drove away. He knew that she meant twice cheating on her. He needed a drink. Sam ran out and realized it was too late to catch her. She saw Ric on the ground.

"What the hell did we do?"

Ric looked up at her sadly. "We lost her."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Alexis dropped the girls off at Wyndemere with Nikolas, John, Alfred, Colleen, and Viola. She told them that she'd be back in a little bit because she had someone to see. As she and Noah were heading back to the launch, Alexis put her hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Noah. You've been a huge help today and you don't even know me."

"Anytime, Alexis. And if you don't mind me saying, your husband's an idiot."

She smiled.

"And you are being very strong. Most women I know would at least have been wallowing in pity for a day or two."

"I'm not most women. I have two … three daughters who need me to be strong … to show them that no man is worth losing yourself. I'll cry tonight when they're asleep."

"Do you need me to come with you …"

She interrupted, "No, thank you Noah. Really, you did help me more than you know. I owe you."

"You don't owe me anyth- … wait, okay, yeah, you owe me dinner. Would you like to have dinner with me some time this week?"

Alexis smiled over at Noah, "Ice cream wasn't enough?"

"Not nearly." He smiled back.

"Are you flirting with me, Dr. Drake? On the day I find out my husband …"

"Yes, I was and I apologize." He interrupted.

Alexis' smile faded, "Don't apologize." She looked out over the water, "It's nice to know that someone still finds me …"

"Extremely attractive? Intelligent? Strong?" He interrupted again.

Alexis blushed and looked away, "This is …"

"Odd? Inappropriate? Exciting?"

She looked over at him, "Would you quit interrupting me?!" She smiled.

He smiled back, "You started it!"

She laughed. Noah stored that sound into his memory. He wanted to be the one to make her laugh like that more often.

"You are your son's father." She smiled.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Robin and I are friends. We don't talk on the phone about ourselves. Your son has come up in many conversations and he is, well …"

"A ladies man? Yeah, very suave … but he does feel for her."

"I know. And you, Dr. Noah Drake, who do you feel for?"

"At the moment …"

"Don't answer that. This is moving a little …"

"Fast?"

"Yeah. And stop it!!" She smiled as she playfully swiped his shoulder. After the launch docked and they stepped off, Noah asked once more if he could take her out and she gave him her cell phone number. He went on his way and called his son. He needed to know when the perfect time was for him to call her. It had been quite a while since he'd been here and he needed a refresher on the rules.

Alexis knocked at the penthouse door. Her old penthouse door. Man, she thought, it seems like twenty years since she'd lived here. Jason answered, not looking too pleased to see her.

"What?"

"May I come in?"

"No, I'm busy."

"You aren't too busy to hear this, believe me!" Alexis said, walking past him, taking a seat on his couch. Jason stared out into the hallway for a moment and then shut the door, turning to look at Alexis.

"I didn't come to tell you this so you'd be mad at her. I don't want to make you angry at her, although I'm sure you will be, but you have to understand that she's not completely to blame. I came here to ask you … no … to beg you, to not kill him. He's the father of one of my children and he's almost Kristina's father too …."

"Alexis! What are you talking about?"

"Oh … ha, sorry!" She looked over at him and gave him a huge smile, "Ric slept with Sam. Today. I saw them. It was sick."

Jason just stared.

"So, I came to tell you and I …" she was getting emotional now. Why now? God! She had wanted to come here, beg him not to kill Ric, and leave. She can't start crying now!! Too bad, her body told her.

The tears fell.

"They slept together, Jason. My daughter … my husband. Jason, what the HELL!?" She sunk back onto the couch. He sat beside her and uncomfortably brought her into his arms. She sobbed, cried out, even screamed a very, very bad word once or twice, and he was there, holding her. Jason felt for her, but mostly he felt anger towards Ric. He felt betrayed by Sam. What the hell was she thinking?

"I'm sorry. God, Jason, I'm sorry!" Alexis apologized sitting up. She wiped her tears with the back of her hands and stood up.

Before she opened the door, she turned to look at him, "Don't hurt him Jason, please."

"Alexis, I won't. Are you okay? Do you need me to bring you anywhere?"

She smiled at him, "I've missed you, Jason. We've both changed a lot …"

"I know." Jason was less uncomfortable; he sat on the couch again.

"They slept together and it's my fault."

He looked up to her and laughed, "Alexis, please."

"No, think about it." She was done crying and she was going to argue her point, "I tell you to stay away from Sam. I yell at Sam and accuse her of stealing the file, on you, from the P.C.P.D., I yell at Ric for not telling me about Sonny's illness. I pushed them to it."

"Alexis, you pushed them to be angry at you. You pushed them to try harder to get your forgiveness … you didn't push them to the bed …"

"The floor … by the couch."

Jason just winced, "Look, Alexis. Sam is your daughter …"

"And I love her."

"… and Ric is your husband…"

"… and I hate him."

Jason smiled and continued, "It's not your fault. Lila, Danny, Manny, me and Sam's breakup, this. Alexis, every bad thing that happens isn't your fault."

Alexis just looked at him, "Then why…"

"Why did we blame you?"

"God, everyone just loves finishing my sentences!"

Jason went on, ignoring her last statement, "We blamed you because it was easy. It was easier to put the blame on someone who we knew could take it. It was easier to do that than to just accept it and grieve. Accept it and move on. You were involved with every one of those things, but none of them were your fault. You are strong, Alexis. Sam knows that. Sam wants …"

"… to get back at me."

"For our break up, yes. And she did that. I bet you though, that she regrets it."

"Good."

Jason nodded, "I told her many times that you didn't make me do anything."

"But Jason, you're the saint and I'm the devil. You would never hurt her … or get her shot, or kidnapped … it's all me."

Jason replied, "Well, that's a load of …"

He was interrupted by a knock on the door. It was a frantic knock that made Alexis jump. Without thinking, she ran to hide on top of the stairs. Jason watched her as he walked to the door and chuckled to himself. She was so goofy.

He looked through the peephole and saw Ric, with Sam leaning against the wall behind him, "Jesus help me."

Opening the door, Jason said, "Yes Ric?"

"Is Alexis here?"

"She was, we had mind-blowing sex, and then she left."

Jason heard Alexis' laugh from upstairs, but Ric didn't.

Sam piped up, "WHAT?!"

"Joke. That was a joke. No, she's not here."

"But …"

"I think you should leave." Jason's eyes bore into Ric's.

"But …"

"Ric, leave, I know you want to live to see Molly's first birthday."

Ric looked back at Sam, and then returned to Jason. After a moment, he turned to leave, "Come on," he said and Sam followed.

"No," commanded Jason, "You … can come in."

Sam looked confused at Jason and walked in the apartment, not giving Ric a second thought.

Before Jason closed the door, Alexis appeared to Sam on top of the staircase. Sam grew scared.

Alexis walked steadily down the stairs and stood in front of Sam.

Sam couldn't read the expression on Alexis' face. It wasn't anger, but it wasn't love. Alexis' words spoke differently.

"Sam."

"Alexis."

"I love you."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Noah stepped off the elevator on the fourth floor and ran straight into Robin.

"Sorry," he apologized as he bent down to help her pick up the files she dropped.

"That's okay. Hey, Noah."

"Hey."

When they stood up, Noah couldn't help but ask, "So, you're friends with Alexis Davis?"

"Yeah. We talk. I knew her before I moved to Paris, but we didn't get close until I came back. I helped deliver her daughter in the train wreck."

"Wow. Good job."

Robin smiled, "Um…thanks? Why? Is she okay?"

"I'm sure she'll call you, but I would like to know a few things about her though … for myself."

"Like what?" Robin was confused.

"Like, what's her favorite food, what does she look for in a guy .."

"Wait, Noah, Alexis is married. Happily."

Noah gave a sad smile and shook his head 'no'.

"What?"

"No, like I said, she'll call you. I shouldn't be asking now. This is inappropriate, sorry …" He walked off.

"Wait, Noah! You better tell me right now what's going on. What happened?"

"It's not my place."

"Then you shouldn't have said anything at all!"

"I know."

"Spill it …" she ordered as she dragged Noah over to the waiting section and sat across from him.

--

"You love me?" Sam asked, not believing her.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Alexis looked at Sam as if she were crazy, "You're my daughter."

"Who just slept with …"

"Yeah. Okay, I'm gonna … go somewhere," Jason interrupted, walking into the kitchen.

Alexis and Sam watched him.

"Why did you tell him?" Sam questioned.

"Because I needed to ask him not to kill Ric."

"He wouldn't have."

"Yes I would have!!" Jason yelled from the kitchen.

Sam sighed and sat down on the chair. Alexis followed and sat across from her on the couch.

"You love me?" Sam asked again.

"Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Because of what I did."

"Yeah, that was …" Alexis looked long and hard at Sam, "Why don't you tell me why you did it? No, scratch that … don't. I know why. Honestly, Sam, I don't care. Listen, I …"

"Why are you so calm about this?"

"Sam, please, don't interrupt me. Noah can, Jason can, anyone can, just not you or Ric."

Sam was taken aback by her mother's forcefulness, so she just sat and listened.

"Sam, I've loved you from the moment I found out I was pregnant. The first time, the only time, I held you in my arms after you were born, was the most magical moment I'd experienced. I knew that I had to give you up … and I didn't want to. I didn't want to lose you, Sam, but I had no choice. I've thought about you every day since that day. I've loved you every day, Sam, and I'm not just going to stop now. I'm angry with you and Ric, and things will never be the same for me and him, but you're my daughter, whether you like it or not, and I will continue to try with you. I just … I can't right now. I can't see you right now, Sam. Please, just, stay here, talk to Jason …"

"No, she can leave," chimed in Jason from the kitchen.

Sam's face fell and Alexis yelled back at him, "Jason! Stop eavesdropping or get in here and join the conversation!" He was silent.

"I just need time, Sam. I just … I need to go." Alexis stood up and walked into the kitchen, "Talk to her."

"Why?"

"Because you love her."

"And? I need time, too."

"No, you need help. Lainey might have some free time …"

"Get out …" Jason joked as he threw three napkins at her from the counter.

"Go talk to her."

"Fine."

Alexis walked toward the front door and gave a quick smile to Sam on her way out. Before she shut the door, she looked back at Jason, "See you at the police department …"

"Yeah, yeah" replied Jason and Alexis was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"Madam Cassadine?"

Alexis looked up from her paperwork on the desk.

"Oh no, it's Davis."

"Madam Davis?"

"No, Ms. Da … just call me Alexis, Alfred, please."

"Ale … Ms. Davis?"

Alexis smiled, "Yes, Alfred?"

"A Mr. Lansing at the door to see you … again. Shall I deal with it the same way?"

Alexis rolled her eyes and threw the three papers in her hand up in the air. Alfred watched them slowly tumble to the floor.

"No, you know what? I'll see him."

She walked out, not looking forward to this.

"Alexis."

"Ric."

"May I see Molly?"

"Yes of course, follow me," she replied coldly.

Ric followed her through the house to the nursery.

Alexis watched him talk and play with Molly for about five minutes and had enough.

"Ric, if you don't mind, I have work to do, so …"

"Please let me stay."

Alexis' heart melted, "Of course, Ric, I just meant that I was leaving. You can stay as long as you want. How could you think that I …" her voice faded. She didn't want to talk anymore, "Never mind, show yourself out … Viola should be in soon."

Alexis walked back to the study and picked up the papers off the floor.

"Hey."

She looked up at her nephew, "Hey, Nikolas … Emily!!" She said happily as she saw the young woman walk in. She stood up and hugged her.

"Hey. How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine … you know me … working." She smiled nicely.

"Yeah. Well …" Emily stopped when she heard baby John crying in the other room. Nikolas excused himself and Alexis noticed that Emily wanted to follow.

"Go, Emily, I'm fine. Thank you."

Emily nodded, smiled, and then left to join the two Cassadine men in the living room.

Alexis was frustrated. It had been a week and she wasn't fine. She didn't want to do work, she didn't want to sleep, she didn't want to do anything. That wasn't like her. Suddenly, her cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Ms. Davis?"

"Alexis."

"Alexis."

"Dr. Drake."

"Noah."

"Noah." Alexis smiled.

"We done?"

"Yeah, nice talking to ya." She hung up. Alexis laughed to herself. Why was she so silly around him?

It rang again.

"Sorry."

"No, that was cute. How are you?"

Alexis sighed dramatically, "Fiiine," she sang.

"Great, dinner? Tonight?"

Alexis bit her bottom lip, "I …"

"Yes?"

"I …"

"Yes?"

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Don't push it."

"K, yes!" He sounded like a teenage boy. Alexis laughed.

"Pick me up at six?"

"Yes."

"Goodbye, Noah."

"Goodbye, Alexis."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Nikolas!!" Alexis screamed throughout the house.

"Hey … oh … wow!!" Nikolas responded, walking into the living room seeing Alexis in front of him. She was wearing a black dress with no straps that came down to way higher above her knees than he liked.

"I hope that's a towel."

She looked at him confused, "No, I'm going out."

"You're not going out in that," he ordered.

"Yes I am."

"No you're not!"

"Yes … I am."

"No," he laughed, "You're not."

"Nikolas!"

"Alexis!"

The just looked at each other for a long moment.

"I'm wearing a coat."

"Does it come down to your feet?"

"No."

Nikolas sighed.

"This is not that short. I'll wear the coat the whole time, except …"

"No. Sorry."

"You're driving me crazy."

"That dress is crazy."

"Ugh …" Alexis pouted and walked out.

"Yeah, go change young lady!" Nikolas yelled after her.

"Bye babies. I'll be back later. You be good okay?"

"Okay Mommy, we'll be good. Are you going out with Daddy Ric?"

"No, sweetie, I'm going out with my friend Noah."

"Oh. Well, where's Daddy Ric?"

"Sweetie, we talked about this. I told you …"

"I know, you're going to try it apart for a while."

Alexis nodded, "You miss him?"

Kristina nodded.

"… and Sam?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, how about tomorrow, we have breakfast with Daddy Ric and then we'll go to the park with Sam?"

"Okay!!"

"How about we top it all off by going to see Daddy, Michael, and Morgan for dinner?"

"Yay! Okay!"

"Okay, now, for tonight, be good?"

"I'm always good!"

"Yes, you are!" Alexis kissed Kristina and Molly goodbye and walked to the front door.

"He just pulled up. I can't believe you're doing this," said Nikolas, who was watching out the window.

"We're just friends. Not even that really, we're acquaintances. You really have a problem with this?"

"Well, not really, I have a problem with you not letting me kick Ric's a--"

"Okay … okay, Nikolas, don't say words like that."

"You wouldn't even let me say it."

"You don't talk like that."

"I might want to start."

Alexis kissed his forehead and hugged him goodbye, "Don't. I love you."

"I love you. I like that dress."

Alexis had changed into a long blue dress that she liked even better, "Thank you, me too. Bye."

"Have a good night. I'll wait up."

She glanced back and smiled.

Noah walked up to Alexis as she walked down the front steps.

"You look gorgeous."

"You should have seen what I wanted to wear."

"Hmm, tomorrow night?"

She laughed, "I have a date tomorrow."

Noah's face dropped.

"With Kristina, Michael, Morgan, and their father."

"Oh. Sonny Corinthos?"

"Yeah."

"From what I hear, he gets around."

Alexis smiled, "That's what I hear, too. And you don't?"

"I'm a one-woman man."

"Oh, I see. Shall we …"

"Of course."

"The Metro-Court? Really?" She said, obviously not too happy.

"Yeah, well, why? Is it okay? I just thought …"

"Oh, it's okay. Sorry. It's just, the owner. I can't stand her."

"Oh, we can go …"

"No, this is fine, it doesn't look like she's around."

They followed the waiter to a table at the back of the room. After they ordered, Alexis saw him, "Oh, no."

"What?"

"My husband. He just walked in."

Noah looked over to see Ric Lansing walk in and take a table by himself not too far from theirs.

"Not so subtle is he?"

Alexis just sighed and looked down, "What do we do? Leave? Stay?"

"Let's make him jealous."

Alexis rolled her eyes, "That's so childish."

"But fun. Dance with me."

"No. I can't, look, Noah, hold on." Alexis stood up and walked over to Ric.

"Ric."

"Oh, hi, Alexis, what are you doing here?"

"Eating. You?"

"The same."

"So, you're not following me?"

"Nope, had no idea you'd be here."

"Okay, have a nice dinner." She walked back over to Noah.

"Okay," she said, "We can go now."

"Oookay." Noah stood and escorted her out.

--

"This is much better than the Metro-Court!" Alexis sarcastically remarked when Noah joined her in the cafeteria at the hospital.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, you're a doctor … on call all the time, I'm very impressed how quickly we got here."

Noah had been called back to work only moments after he and Alexis got into the car outside of the Metro Court. Alexis had told him that she'd tag along and they'd get a bite to eat from the cafeteria after he was finished. That was almost three hours ago.

"Robin's mad at me," Noah remarked, smiling.

"Why?" Alexis questioned, playing with her stale carrot sticks on her plastic plate.

"Because I didn't tell her you were here. She said she would've come to join you."

"Awe, she's so sweet. I was fine. Well, for most of it. Look …" She pointed over to the table in the corner of the cafeteria, where her husband sat.

"Oh my God. He is following you."

"I don't mind. At least he's not off somewhere sleeping with my daughter."

"Alexis …"

"Sorry, that was harsh … anyway, I've been busy looking at him, thinking of the things I'd like to do to him right now."

"You're still in love with him."

Alexis looked at Noah for a long moment, "I loathe him. I want him to suffer. I want him to be hurt by someone the way he hurt me."

Noah looked at her sympathetic, "I'm sure there's a long line of men who would gladly rough him up for you … I'm one of them."

"Sure, yeah, Nikolas, you, Alfred, Jason, Sonny I'm sure will when he finds out, if I ever told Jax, he'd be there, Ned's been looking for someone to what …'rough up' as you put it, but what would that do?"

"Hurt him."

"I'm against violence."

"So you just sit there dreaming of it?"

"Yep. I'm completely 100 for imagining horrible things to happen …" Alexis sighed. "We have a child together. Molly. She's almost a year old and she's so in love with her father. Kristina is, for all intended purposes, his, too. He's a good father."

"I'm sure he is a fantastic father, but …"

"I wouldn't say 'fantastic'. I mean, if given the choice, he'd choose his brother over them any day."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's a sickness. I thought he was over it, but … not so much." Alexis looked back over to Ric who was staring them down. He quickly looked away when he saw her eyes on him.

Alexis shook her head, "Will you bring me home?"

"Of course. First, would you like me to go talk to him?"

"No, he's not worth it. I have to call him later anyway … I have to request his presence at Kelly's tomorrow morning for breakfast with our daughters."

"Well, that sounds like fun."

"Ha!" Alexis laughed as they walked out, Noah's hand on the small of her back, which they both knew made Ric cringe.

"Well, here we are …" Noah said sadly as they walked off the launch onto the Wyndemere estate.

"Do you want to walk me in, or do you have to get back?"

"I would love to." Noah smiled. They walked in silence to the door, "You're very strong Alexis. I saw you cry once, on the docks, but if I hadn't have stopped, I wouldn't have known you were crying."

"I told you, I cry when I'm alone in my room after my girls fall asleep."

"It's not healthy to bottle it up. Especially when you have someone to talk to."

Alexis looked up at Noah and smiled, "Thank you. When I'm ready to talk, you'll be the first one I call."

"I'm sorry …"

"No, I'm sorry. That was … I don't know. It's just hard. Even with Ric, I couldn't really talk. We basically just lived from crisis to crisis and survived. He never really wanted me … Alexis Davis … he wanted the woman who gave birth to his brother's child. He wanted the woman who then gave birth to his child."

Noah sat down on the bench right outside the door and Alexis joined him, "He never loved you?"

"I don't know. I thought he did. He acted like it. He said it. There was so much chaos for a while there, but when it died down, he was gone."

"Explain that."

Alexis sighed and looked over, "It's a long story."

"I like long stories."

She smiled, "Okay, you asked for it."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"So, where to start?" Alexis asked Noah after discarding her shoes and crossing her legs under her.

"From the beginning." Noah followed her lead, kicking off his shoes and turning towards her.

"Wow, okay, well, I was born …" she stopped and looked at him, "You would've listened from the very beginning?"

He was confused, "Of course."

She laughed, "Okay, well, I'll start from when we met … me and Ric. I'll tell you my life story later."

He nodded.

"We are both lawyers … so naturally, we met at the courthouse. We argued many cases against each other and I despised him almost immediately. He was egotistical, arrogant, obsessive with his brother, and just plain … idiotic."

Noah laughed.

"But he made me feel wanted. He chased me around, followed me, and it thrilled me that this man would want me … that he'd want to I don't know, spend time with me, even if I was spewing out insults at him."

"Why do you think he did that?"

"Oh, I know why. He found out that Kristina was his brother's daughter and he was trying to get to Sonny through me and his daughter."

"Sonny didn't know I take it."

"No. I told everyone that she was Ned's. Ned Ashton. We dated for a long while and, it just seemed more plausible. He's the one who told Sonny. Anyway, Sonny's life was dangerous and I wasn't going to let my daughter, my second daughter, be taken away from me …" Alexis grew quiet.

"So, Ric knew."

"Yeah. He found out and well, so did everyone else, when Kristina got sick. Ric was there for me then. He was the only one. Jax was, my first husband … I'll explain that later," she added when she saw Noah with a surprised look on his face, "Jax wasn't around much then, but he was there if I needed him … but I didn't. I had Ric." She took a breather. They stared out into the night as she continued, "So, he was there, he was so supportive. He never left my side once. When Sonny found out, Ric proposed. He knew that the courts would rather have two parents raising a child, rather than one, which I completely disagree with, but hey, it's the way the world works. Anyway, Kristina got a transplant from Sam McCall's unborn child, which died …"

"Your grandchild."

Alexis nodded. She just sat there for a moment.

"Alexis, if this is too hard …"

"No, I'm fine, it's just, with everything I've been through, I don't see how he could do this to me. I'll be fine. Okay, so Kristina got better, Ric and I were married, we eventually …" she looked over to Noah, "Validated our marriage and things were good. Then, I found out that he knew all along and boy was I pissed. I kicked him out and not long after, Kristina was kidnapped. Sonny was granted shared custody and she was taken from his house one night."

"I wish I could've been there for you."

She smiled, "Where were you two years ago?"

"In a bar … drunk off my ass."

"Well, I wish I could've been there with you." They laughed together.

"Ric was there for me. Throughout it all. He loved Kristina. I honestly believed him when he had told me that it wasn't about Sonny anymore, that he wanted us to work. Anyway, I found out I was pregnant with Molly while Kristina was still missing. That was hard. I wanted to jump with joy, then, I wanted to cry, then, I wanted to kick and scream and just let it all out, but Ric was there. We finally got Kristina back…you know what, I'm making this sound like an everyday thing. These things we went through, they were hard. They were impossibly hard. They changed us, or at least me, forever."

"I don't see that you're making light of any of it, you're just telling me what happened. I'm sure you were devastated through all of it…and even if Ric didn't mean it or really want to be there, I'm glad he was there for you," Noah assured her.

She just nodded. After a moment of silence, she continued, "So we finally got Kristina back, things were okay. I was pregnant, he and Sonny weren't enemies anymore, and things were settling down. Then, we started fighting; I was being hardheaded and not wanting Kristina anywhere near Sonny. I wanted to put him away, and now Ric was on his side. We separated for a while, he went to his brothers, I was home. I was so very pregnant and alone and I just wanted him back. There was a hurricane, he was shot, things happened. Life. Anyway, we got back together, and then broke it off again. I don't know, life was just not going the way I wanted it to. It all came crashing down on me when he announced that he slept with someone else. I … I can't even say her name I hate her so much."

"Where is she now?"

"She's dead. She died in the train wreck."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I feel bad for saying that I hate her, but I didn't want her to die … I just wanted her to go far, far away and never come back. Anyway, yeah, the train wreck happened. I had Molly, thanks to my wonderful Robin and Emily, and Ric and I reunited. He said all the right things, and well, I believed him. Man, I sound like a love-sick fool."

"You aren't, you weren't. You were in love."

"Ha! Maybe … I don't know. Anyway, things were going great after that. Molly wasn't sick, she was all fat and happy, and so were we all. Kristina and her Daddy Ric completely loved each other and Ric and I grew closer. We had an actual family. Then came the epidemic. That was fun."

"Yeah."

"We helped each other through it. I actually thought that we came out of it stronger. I was close to death, he was close to death … you know, he's always be the most 'in love' with me, when I'm close to death."

"I don't believe that."

"It's true. We were in a car wreck, a hurricane, the train wreck, the epidemic, and we came out stronger after them all, but then drifted apart …" Alexis' voice faded.

"He never loved me, Noah."

Noah looked over to her, watching the tears fall down her cheeks. He reached his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in. She wrapped her left arm around his waist and buried her head on his chest. He ran his hand through her hair and simply stated, "I think it's impossible for someone not to love you."

After she cried it out, she sat up and wiped the tears off of her face. She didn't hear his confession, and if she did, she would've denied it. She looked sympathetically over at him.

"I'm sorry."

"For?"

"Crying … breaking down in front of you."

"Don't be. I'm actually glad that you did. I see that you're human, Alexis. You can cry to me anytime. I won't tell anyone."

She nodded and stood up.

"You're done with the story?" He called after her.

"Yeah, well, after the epidemic, he helped me find my daughter, and then he slept with her. End of story."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too. Not for me and Ric. For me and Sam. I really don't know how I'm going to look at her and not see what I saw …"

Noah stood up, "You'll find a way. You love her."

"I've loved her forever."

"Love is powerful, Alexis. It can change everything in one moment."

Through her tears, Alexis looked up at Noah, "Thank you."

He smiled and wrapped her in his arms once more, "Anytime. I'm always here."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"There he is!" Alexis tried to sound excited for her daughters. Ric walked in to Kelly's and enveloped Kristina in his arms.

"Hey baby!" He put her down and sat across from Alexis, greeting Molly who was in her stroller, "Hey baby doll!"

"We missed you!" Kristina told him.

"I've missed you. Are you two being good for Mommy?" He looked at Alexis.

"Of course! Oh, we ordered for you. Pancakes!!"

"Yummy!! You know I love pancakes!"

"Yep!" Kristina ran over to see her Grandpa Mike make the pancakes for them.

"Alexis."

"Ric."

"So, how was your date last night?"

"You should know … you were there."

"Yeah, that was fast."

"We're friends."

"Sure."

"Shut up."

"Okay." He just sat there. Alexis was furious. How dare he even mention last night.

She glanced back up to him and just looked. He was nervous. She just stared.

"Alexis,"

"Don't."

"I'm …"

"Don't," she repeated.

"I'm sorry."

"I hate you."

"I know."

"Then why apologize? Accept it and move on."

"I want to do something, something to make this up to you."

"There's no coming back from this Ric. I shouldn't have forgiven you after … the other one."

"Reese."

"Ugh."

"I'm sorry, you have no idea …"

"No, Ric, I don't. I have no clue as to how someone could sleep with their …"

"Pancakes are ready!!" Kristina ran back to her Mommy and Daddy Ric and waited patiently for Lulu to bring over their pancakes.

"Thank you Lulu," Alexis said politely.

"You're very welcome. If you need anything else, just let me know!"

"Thanks."

They looked like a happy family. Eating pancakes with too much syrup on them and laughing at Kristina's jokes. Alexis smiled at her daughter, but was crying inside. How did it get this bad? How could this bastard do this to his daughters?

"Sam!"

Oh God, thought Alexis, she's early. Alexis asked Sam to meet them at nine o'clock … it was eight-thirty. She assumed that Ric would be gone by nine. It was bad enough that she had to spend time with both of these people who broke her heart, but seeing them together.

Kristina ran into Sam's arms.

"Oh, hey sweetie. I'm sorry I'm early," she apologized to Alexis, feeling the tension when she noticed Ric.

"That's no problem. Why don't you go ahead and take the girls to the park and I'll meet you there in a little bit?"

Sam silently helped Kristina gather her things and rolled Molly out of Kelly's. She wanted to be out of there.

Finally alone, Ric said, "I'm sorry."

"Stop saying that."

"I'm not going to stop saying it until you forgive me."

"Then you'll be saying those words forever."

"Come on Alexis, let me explain …"

"What's to explain, Ric? You slept with my daughter! I don't want to hear that you're sorry. You're only sorry because you got caught. How long has it been going on? No, don't answer that. I don't want to hear that you were drunk, or insane, or that you thought it was me. I'm so sick and tired of the lies, Ric. I want a divorce. I would love never to see you again, but I won't be that lucky. I know you love Kristina and Molly, and we'll work this out. They'll never know that you FED their sister."

"Alexis!"

"Ric!"

"Shhh…"

"What?! Am I being too loud? SORRY RIC! I DON'T WANT TO EMBARRASS YOU…. GOD FORBID!" She screamed, grabbed her purse, and walked out. Phase one of three complete … Ric down, Sam and Sonny to go.

Walking to the park alone, Alexis' cell phone rang.

"Alexis Davis."

"Hello, gorgeous."

She smiled. That voice …

"Hello, yourself."

"Dinner last night was amazing."

She laughed, "Nothing like cafeteria food."

"I thought it was wonderful."

"You didn't eat."

"Oh, yeah, who can think about eating when they're with you."

She blushed, "What can I do for you, Dr. Drake?"

He grew serious, "Just wondering how breakfast went."

"I yelled, very loud. I said my favorite curse word."

"Oh, no."

"Yeah, Mike probably would have kicked me out if I hadn't have left first."

"Do you feel better?"

"Oddly enough, yeah."

"Well, good. Look, I also wanted to ask you, tomorrow night, Patrick, Robin, and I would like you to join us for dinner."

"Hmm … dinner with three doctors on call twenty-four hours a day. Will you promise me that I'll eat something besides stale carrot sticks?"

"Yes, I promise that at least one of us will make it through dinner with you."

"Great … where are we going?"

"Wherever you want."

"Oooh, do they like Chinese?"

"They love it."

"Great, I'll meet you at the China Garden at six."

"Can you make it five? I would like you to myself for a while. They'll meet us at six."

She blushed again, "Okay, it's a date."

"Yay," he grinned.

"No you did not just say 'yay'."

He smiled, "Try to have a good day."

"I'll try. The worst is over."

When Noah hung up, he looked behind him to Robin and Patrick, who were listening intently with huge smiles plastered on their faces.

"I really hope you guys like Chinese."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

They were beautiful. Kristina swinging, Sam holding Molly, watching, smiling. Alexis strolled up to them and had to smile herself.

"Hello my beautiful girls." Sam turned to face her and smiled.

"Mommy! Push me!!" Yelled Kristina, excited to see her mother.

"Okay…" Alexis pushed Kristina high and tickled her every time she swung back. Kristina's laugh was addictive, they were all laughing uncontrollably until their sides hurt. Alexis grew weary and walked over to the bench to sit. Sam followed her, handing Molly to her and sat down.

"We should talk."

"Not now…Sam, it's too soon. Are you and Jason back together?"

Sam's face fell, "No…he said he needs time."

Alexis looked over to her after placing Molly in her stroller, "Do you blame him?"

"No. He kept saying that he broke it off with me for his own reasons. That it just happened to be the reason that you wanted us apart."

"Sam, I wanted you to be happy, but more importantly, I wanted you alive."

"I know."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Alexis looked surprised. "You do?"

"Yes. I didn't know that until I didn't have you anymore."

"You'll always have me. Sam, it doesn't matter what you do, I'll always be your mother and I'll love you always."

"You shouldn't."

"You sound like the woman who raised you."

"She never loved me."

"She was a horrible person. I wish I had met her. She would've regretted ever saying one mean thing to you."

"I was hard to raise."

"You were perfect, Sam. From the moment you were born."

Tears came to Sam's eyes, "Why couldn't we have had talks like this before?"

Alexis just looked over at Kristina, "There were a lot of things going on. The mob wars were getting more dangerous, I was afraid for you, you were obsessing over Jason …"

"I'm sorry."

"Okay. You know I forgive you."

"Okay. You know I'm sorry."

Alexis smiled at Sam, "Let's forget everything for a few hours. Everything. Kristina!"

Kristina looked over.

"Let's go swimming!"

Sam looked at Alexis surprised, "Swimming, but you can't…"

"I'll try. I'll stay in the shallow part. I know you and Kristina love to swim."

Sam smiled, "Let's go."

They spent the day at Wyndemere in the pool that Nikolas recently had put in. Emily and Nikolas joined them for a while. Around three o'clock, Alexis' phone rang.

"Alexis Davis."

"It's me again."

"Hello, you again."

"I miss you."

"Yeah, okay …" she rolled her eyes.

"What? I do!"

Alexis laughed, "You're trying so hard."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm in a very small bikini trying to learn how to swim."

"Oooh, I'll be right over."

"Funny."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, we're having a blast. I wish you could be here."

"You in a bikini, I wish I could too."

Alexis blushed once more.

"Phase two is complete."

"One more. Does Sonny know?"

"No."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"I don't know. You think I should?"

"I dunno. How do you do something like that?"

"What, tell the father of one of my children that his brother, the father of another one of my children slept with another one of my children?"

"Yeah."

"I think I'll say it just like that."

"Good luck."

"Thanks. How has your day been?"

"Okay, I saved someone's life."

"Well, good job. Anyone I know?"

"I don't know … do you know a Luke Spencer?"

"YES! WHAT HAPPENED??"

"Car accident. He's stable."

"Oh my God, I'll see you in a minute."

She hung up and walked over to the pool, "Nikolas, Sam, Luke's been in a car accident, I'm going to the hospital. Are you okay here? Viola should be back soon."

"We're good … we have the girls, do you need me to come with you?" Sam said concerned.

"No, thanks, but Nikolas, call Lucky and Lulu, make sure they know."

"Okay," he said, already out of the pool, drying off quickly.

--

"Noah, hey, where is he?" Alexis said, no time for small talk.

"Room 414," he responded, watching the beautiful Alexis Davis walk past him to the room.

"Luke?" She said, walking in.

He looked up and smiled.

"Natasha. My angel."

"Ha, ha. What the hell happened to you?"

"I can't drive."

"Then why were you?"

"I had to get out of that house. Robert and Tracy drive me crazy."

She smiled, "They love you."

"Yeah."

Alexis just rolled her eyes.

"So how are you, Natasha? I don't see you around much anymore."

"I'm okay. I'm alive."

"Your girls are good to you?"

What a question. Alexis wondered if he knew. No, he couldn't.

"Yes, they're amazing."

"Kids are amazing. You know Lucky and Elizabeth are expecting …"

"Really?! Congratulations Grandpa."

"Don't you dare call me that."

Alexis laughed. "I won't call you that if you don't call me it when Sam has a baby."

"Deal. Man, we're getting old."

"You're getting old."

Luke smiled at his friend.

"Dad!" Lulu and Lucky said at the same time, running in the room. Alexis stood and gave up her side of the bed.

"Hey kiddo's. I'm fine."

"Okay, well, you're in good hands now. Lucky, congratulations. You too, Pawpaw." She smiled.

"Thanks, Natasha."

Alexis walked up to the nurse's station and asked Epiphany if she knew where Noah was.

"He's in emergency surgery, he should be done in a while. Would you like to wait or leave a message?" Epiphany responded nicely.

"No, thanks. I'll call him later. Thanks again." She turned and bumped into the younger Dr. Drake.

"Dr. Drake."

"Mrs. Lan--Davis."

"Hi."

"Hi. How's Luke?"

"Good, how are you?"

"I'm good. So, what are your intentions with my father?"

"WHAT!?" Alexis was taken aback.

"I'm joking. He really likes you, ya know?"

"He doesn't know me."

"Hmm, well, you're all he talks about."

Alexis blushed and looked down.

"Well, see you tomorrow night, Patrick."

"You too, Alexis." He smiled and went to find Robin.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Alexis was nervous. She wasn't sure if she should tell Sonny. She didn't know if he already knew. She secretly hoped that she wouldn't have to be alone with him, that way, she wouldn't have to tell him.

"Come on in. Hi Kristina!" Greeted the oddly cheerful Max.

"Hi Max! Michael!!" Kristina said happily as she saw her brother in the living room. They ran, followed by Morgan, to his room to play with his latest toy.

Alexis rolled her eyes. Great. She will be alone with him. Leticia greeted them in the living room.

"Mr. Corinthos is finishing up dinner. Would you like me to take this beautiful little girl up to her sister and cousins?" She said nicely, bending down to talk to Molly.

"Um…sure, why not? Thank you Leticia." Alexis said politely, not really wanting to give up being in her child's presence.

Alexis walked into the kitchen to smell the most amazing aroma.

"Oh my God Sonny! That smells fantastic!"

"It better. I've been perfecting it all day." He smiled that smile at her.

"Alexis."

"Hey. The kids are upstairs. How are you?"

"I'm good, you?"

"No, Sonny, how are you really? I haven't seen you in months. I heard about…"

"Yeah, Carly told me she told you. I'm sorry, Alexis."

"There's nothing to be sorry about. You probably assumed that my husband would have told me."

"Your husband...who I will gladly get rid of for you."

"Oh, so you know."

"Yes, of course…I was waiting for you to give me the okay to put him out of his misery."

"Sonny…"

"I know, but it's a nice thought."

"He loves you."

"No, he wants to be me."

Alexis sighed, "Egotistical much?"

Sonny just looked at her.

"He doesn't want to be you, Sonny, he wants to be loved by you…wait…sh--, why the hell am I defending him? Ugh! I swear, you're married to a man for almost two years and you start defending him without even thinking…"

"Are you okay?"

"No."

Sonny walked over to Alexis, who was leaning against one of the counters.

"I'll kill him, Alexis. No second thought."

"No, Sonny, absolutely not. He cheated on me. That's not a crime."

"Yes, it is."

Alexis just stared back at him. "Anyway, how are you really Sonny?"

"Well, I'm taking my medication, I'm going to therapy three times a week, I broke up with Emily, I have no job, I have no real friends…"

"So, you're good?" Alexis smiled.

"Never been better." He smiled back.

"Really, Sonny, has it gotten that bad?"

"Na, I have Michael, Morgan, and Kristina. I have Jason and Carly…well, Jason. I kicked Carly out earlier because all she tends to do is scream at me. She doesn't even talk anymore…it's always screaming."

"Hmm."

"You okay?"

"I'm alive."

"That's good."

"Yeah." He just looked at her for a moment. He offered her a quick smile and they went to set the table.

After dinner, the kids went back up to the room to play. Sonny and Alexis cleared the table together and then sat in the living room in silence for a while.

"I miss you, Alexis" Sonny blurted out. She snapped her head over to him. "I miss my friend."

"I didn't go anywhere. You're the one who left."

"Yeah."

They sat for another moment, listening to the laughter of their children echoing from upstairs.

"You lied to me about Kristina."

"You threatened to kill me."

"You tried to put me in prison, many times."

"You chose Carly over me."

"You wanted me to."

"Yeah."

"All is forgiven?"

"For you?"

"Yep. You?"

She looked deep into his eyes for a minute, "Yep."

He smiled, "Let's go play." He stood up and reached out his hand. She took it and they walked upstairs to join their children.

--

Molly fell asleep on the way home. Alexis wanted to. It had been a very long day. Kristina stayed at Sonny's for the night and Molly didn't wake up once from the car to her crib.

Alexis crawled into her bed at Wyndemere and fell asleep instantly, only to be so rudely awakened thirty minutes later by her cell phone.

"Sonny?"

"No."

"Ric?"

"Wrong again."

"Oh, Noah. Wow, hey! I'm glad it's you."

"Really, you sound disappointed. Why did you ask for them?"

"Kristina's over at Sonny's. Ric, well, I just woke up and thought I was still married."

"You are still married."

"I'm working on ending that."

"Hmm."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to hear your voice."

"What time is it?"

"Ten o'clock."

"Oh, it's still early. I was asleep."

"I'm sorry."

"No, don't be, I wanted to hear your voice too."

Noah smiled on the other end.

"You're not breaking our date are you?" Alexis questioned.

"Not for anything in the world, I just wanted to see how dinner went."

"It went great. We talked, we ate, we talked, we forgave, we played with the kids. A very interesting night."

"That's great, Alexis."

"Yeah. It's so weird, for lack of a better word."

He smiled again. "What's weird?"

"Me and Sonny. I think we're friends again."

"That's a good thing, right?"

"Yes, especially for our daughter. I just … I thought that I'd be with Ric, and we'd all three finally get along."

"Now Ric's the one that's out of the picture."

"Yeah."

"He won't like it?"

"Oh, no … Sonny can forgive me … not him. I can forgive Sonny, not him. He'll be very upset." Alexis lay back in bed.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I guess. It just … well, it sucks."

"Yeah. I'm sorry. I wish I could do something."

"You are. You're here for me. That's more than most have done. I haven't even heard from Jax, but he's out of the country."

"Well, I am here Alexis. Even just as a friend."

She sighed lightly, "A friend."

"I'd like to be more."

"It's been less than two weeks since …"

"I know, I'm just saying …"

"I know."

"I'll be here."

"I know."

"Alexis, are you still coming tomorrow?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. Change is a good thing, right?"

"Sometimes change is a very good thing."

The End


End file.
